Is Thanksgiving Still a Holiday?

Halloween has come and gone, which means it’s time to move on to the next, big holiday – Christmas. The stores are already decked out in green, red, silver, and gold; Santa has been mentioned at least twice on the radio in the last hour; and holiday favorites are being broadcasted across our television sets. It only stands to reason that Christmas follows Halloween and there’s nothing in between.

Yet, I can’t shake the feeling that we’re forgetting something. I could’ve sworn November had it’s own holiday. There always seems to be a lot of hype around the end of the month, which must be significant. You see signs and ads all over the place talking about it. I just can’t quite put my finger on it… Wait, by George, I think I’ve got it; the holiday between Halloween and Christmas is Black Friday/Cyber Monday! Right?

Happy Shopping Days

That’s right folks, once again, it’s that wonderful time of the year when every store has a sale and everything is going for cheap, cheap, cheap! Stores got the ball rolling even earlier this year and decided to put the Christmas decorations out at the same time as the Halloween ones. After all, they’re both great excuses for selling mass amounts of products, and isn’t that what the holidays are all about?

Thanksgiving (the actual holiday that comes between the other two), on the other hand, has no commercial appeal – unless you’re a grocery store, I suppose. As a result, it’s lost any significance it once had and now mainly serves as a reminder that Christmas is only a month away. Companies capitalize on this by hosting massive sales in stores and online shortly after Thanksgiving commences.

Over the past several years though, companies have realized the only way to have an edge over the competition is by starting the sales earlier. Many of them have chosen to host major door buster events that start the night before Black Friday. They’ve chosen to completely ignore that this means employees and shoppers alike are being pulled away from their holiday plans.

Of course, it’s not like anyone cares about eating turkey and spending time with their families anyway, so why not start earlier? While employees might be compelled to come in, consumers are entirely free to make their own choices. These early sales have proven to be successful, so clearly they’re on to something.

It’s the Final Countdown

Seeing how this is the case, it only makes sense for sellers to begin having sales even earlier. Big name brands and companies have already begun their onslaught of ads, and many of them are having pre-Black Friday sales. Amazon has even added a countdown to Black Friday/Cyber Monday on its website, because that’s the holiday we should be celebrating, isn’t it? Who needs stuffy, old Thanksgiving when you’ve got all the excitement of buying things?

Now, in all fairness, I don’t really have anything against there being a huge day of sales before Christmas. I especially don’t mind having those sales available online; I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like getting good deals without leaving the comfort of my home. The commercialization itself doesn’t even really bother me. What annoys me is how strong the commercial aspect has become.

Companies have turned the holidays into a spectacle. It’s all about them and what they have to offer rather than the holidays themselves. They’ve become too big for their britches and people are getting tired of it. The incessant ads and constant reminders that Black Friday/Cyber Monday is just around the corner have begun to drive us crazy; and many of us are ready to snap.

Thanksgiving Will Rise Again

I thoroughly enjoy Thanksgiving and am saddened every year when the entirety of it gets glazed over. The holiday itself gets ignored while all the glory goes to the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales, which turn the focus immediately to Christmas. Businesses treat the month of November as one, big commercial for the upcoming holiday season rather than a month of gratitude.

As more and more companies begin to fight back against the tyranny of Black Friday/Cyber Monday though, a sliver of light begins to appear at the end of the tunnel. Ultimately, however, it’s up to the consumers to show these companies that we want the focus to be more on the holiday than on what follows. If we band together, we might still be able to save Thanksgiving. Now wouldn’t that be something to be thankful for?

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